How SCORE can help you

SCORE, a volunteer business consulting group backed by the Small Business Administration, has experienced professionals who provide free advice and expertise to small businesses. Services include:

Mentoring: More than 100 successful executives are available to consult about specific business problems.

Workshops: Local business experts teach a variety of subjects including starting a business, business plans, marketing, finance, import/export and human resources

CEO forums: Two SCORE members lead groups of 10 to 12 non-competing peers to help with strategic issues and problem-solving

Business library: A variety of business documents are available as well as templates, tools and resource links on subjects such as initial business planning, capital sources, operating statements and governmental agencies

For information: www.score114.org. For counseling or workshop appointments call 714-550-7369.

When marketing guru Tom Patty asked Jon and Gila Kurtz what their business was about, the owners of Dog Is Good had a ready response, "Dog stuff."

Wrong answer – and one that derails many young businesses, said Patty, one of 100 local experts who mentor up-and-coming entrepreneurs as part of SCORE's program for small businesses.

He said new entrepreneurs may know the mechanics of running a business, but they often overlook the one thing that could make the difference in the success of their company: defining what they are about.

Patty calls it marketing in five words, being able to identify your target audience in five words and focus your efforts on them.

"It is not easy to do, but it's not complicated," Patty said.

For the Kurtzes, it was an aha moment in the development of their Los Alamitos company, which creates and markets T-shirts, coffee mugs, art and gifts for dog lovers.

"It drove us to think about everything we do in terms of, 'What are you about?'" Jon Kurtz said.

Gila Kurtz, a professional dog trainer, started Dog Is Good in 2007 in a small room in their quarters at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, where her husband, a Navy captain, was base commander. Jon Kurtz joined the business when he retired in 2009.

Gila Kurtz got the idea for the business when she went to a dog training continuing education class and saw someone selling T-shirts that said things like, "I love my Dalmation." She thought she could do better.

Her idea was to market goods to people who are passionate about their dogs, using humor and sophistication with phrases like, "I like big mutts" and "Never walk alone."

The company had been in a slow growth pattern, but the Kurtzes wanted to take the business to the next level.

Jon Kurtz had heard about SCORE, a nonprofit business counseling service affiliated with the Small Business Administration. He visited SCORE's office in Santa Ana, but thought the programs were too basic, more for beginners who had never run a business.

Gila Kurtz later attended a women's networking group where Patty spoke as a SCORE mentor.

Patty discussed the marketing lessons he learned as former president of the powerhouse advertising firm Chiatt/Day, which represented companies such as Apple, Nike, Pizza Hut and Nissan Motors. He retired from Chiatt/Day in 1998 and began mentoring for SCORE in 2002, thinking small businesses could learn from his experience.

Gila Kurtz, co-owner of Dog Is Good in Los Alamitos, poses with her dog, Sasha, in the company's office. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
One of many shirt designs for Dog Is Good is seen at the warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
Jon and Gila Kurtz, owners of Dog Is Good in Los Alamitos, with their dogs Sasha (left) and Henry (right). COURTESY OF DOG IS GOOD
One of many shirt designs for Dog Is Good is seen at the warehouse in Los Alamitos. New designs are coming soon this year for cat and horse lovers, too. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
One of many shirt designs for Dog Is Good is seen at the warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
Magnets are displayed at the Dog Is Good warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
Dog Is Good greeting cards are seen at the warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
Dog Is Good stickers are seen at the warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Dog Is Good co-owner Gila Kurtz poses at her warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
Dog Is Good co-owner Gila Kurtz stands among the T-Shirts and other goods in the company's warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
One of many shirt designs for Dog Is Good is seen at the warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
A wall hanging is displayed at Dog is Good warehouse in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
Co-owner Gila Kurtz is seen with her employees and their dogs at the Dog is Good offices in Los Alamitos. ANA P. GUTIERREZ, FOR THE REGISTER
The Dog Is Good logo.

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